What is the main cause of homelessness?

The list of ways that you can become homeless is almost endless – and only a few misfortunes separate anyone from spending time on the streets. Whether it be substance abuse or addiction, or mental health problems, or unemployment, homelessness can be the end result without the right support.

Among the most popular reasons for homelessness were parents no longer able to or willing to provide accommodation, which was the case for 8,520 households, while domestic violence affected 6,580 households. Non-violent relationship breakdowns accounted for 2,900 households while mortgage or rent arrears made up just 360 of the total figure.

Around five million UK households, or 21 per cent of the total, are currently in private rented accommodation, according to YouGov, with a quarter of that figure including families with children.

This is double the number a decade ago and set to rise to 5.79 million in the next five years as more and more Brits struggle to afford to buy property of their own.

With the UK government pledging to build 300,000 new homes every year in a bid to solve the housing crisis as well as pledging to eradicate rough sleeping by 2027, perhaps the growing private mental market is worthy of some attention to give Sajid Javid a chance of hitting that target.

The Big Issue magazine launched in 1991 in response to the growing number of rough sleepers on the streets of London, by offering people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income through selling a magazine to the public. Twenty-five years on, our vendors come from a variety of backgrounds and face the myriad of problems associated with poverty and inequality.